NARRATOR:'In the midst of an economic recession, we're all in it together but some are in it deeper than others. With one in five young people struggling to find work and many dependent on benefits Britain's youth is being hit hard.'
NARRATOR:'17 year old Shelby lives on the south side of Glasgow.'
SHELBY:'When I was younger, I wanted to be like, famous and like, I wanted to be an actress. 'but acting lessons and stuff, it costs money. I just expected like, I would go to school and as soon as I left school somebody would just discover me and I would be this big famous actress within a week but that's just not how it works.'
SHELBY:'Like you don't know any of it, like 'life and like how hard stuff is.'
NARRATOR:'Shelby spent 12 months on benefits but now she's working five days a week and getting used to the new routine.'
SHELBY:Like cause I don't have any experience, I've never had a job before, I've ne-- I messed up in school and all that so, like, most people won't take me for a job so this is my one chance to just… get there so. For like a year there I was like sleeping all day like, constantly just lying in my bed all the time
SHELBY:just lazy 'cause I didn't have any reason to get up out my bed.
SHELBY:Morning.
NARRATOR:'Shelby's job is actually a six month work placement arranged by a local charity.'
SHELBY:'£55 a week is not really that great but I don't really like stacking shelves and stuff. but I'm happy to be doing that 'cause at least I'm working. Going out and I'm doing something.'
NARRATOR:'Despite working 30 hours a week Shelby's financially, no better off. The £55 she gets from the placement is the same she would have got on Jobseekers' Allowance.'
SHELBY:'I hope it'll be worth the work and I'll get a new job at some point. Obviously I'm still gonna make mistakes but I'm going down the right path.'
NARRATOR:'Things became hard for Shelby when she got kicked out of home. She ended up in a hostel and when she moved here, she had nothing.'
SHELBY:But I would just like, I had two quilts and my teddy and pillows and that and I would just lie them there and… sleep there. And then 'cause it was quite cold then 'cause this would have been like November, I was like sleeping on the floor and the cold hurts your back. And then like, upgraded to this but this wasn't much better.
SHELBY:As soon as you sit on it, it's like, LAUGHS right down here. For the first couple of days I was like, "Oh I don't care, this is my house." 'Cause I just thought everything would be sorted and I'd have a nice house in no time but… I don't. SHE SIGHS I spend a lot of time up here just looking at everything.
SHELBY:I don’t know, it's sad that I'm 17 and like just looking out the window and… do you know what I mean, like, I don’t think there's anybody else my age sitting doing this with their time. 55 is what I get. That's all I've got to live on. And then, bread's a pound and milk's a pound. I've got- bread, milk, a fish finger thing,
SHELBY:cereal, chips, crisps, juice, cold meat, and cheese. That comes to 14.50 so it leaves me £40.50. Before I'd done the budgeting, you'd just go into the shop and I'd be like, oh, I want this, I want this and I would spend like £20. 12.50 I've left myself for fags. I probably could get more food with that and stuff
SHELBY:but fags is about the only luxury I get. Well this week I'm getting myself socks. 'Cause once I've got everything I've only got like a couple pound left. So… Like obviously everybody gets skint but, like… I'm like always skint. Like even when I get paid, I'm skint. 'I've run out of money, usually a day or two after I get paid
NARRATOR:'To furnish her empty flat, Shelby applied for a community care grant. She was initially refused, but eventually given just enough to buy a bed, fridge and microwave, but for the last ten months, she's had no cooker.'
SHELBY:'Cause it's more expensive, the stuff for the microwave. Like these chips, like it's 2 for 2.50, whereas if I was to get chips that you make in the oven, you get like two big giant bags for 2.50 and it's, like, do you know what I mean? So it would save me money and there would be more chips and… It would be better.
SHELBY:My auntie's got a cooker for me but I just need to get like, the money to like… get it in the van up. I'd be a lot better off if I was to be able to like just… cook proper meals like the way… real people do. I'm always hungry like, even if I've ate I'm still hungry. Like, so I'm just like "right you're just greedy,
SHELBY:you don't need more than that, you don't need more than that" so. If you drink too much coffee, you get like this sicky feeling and you just don't want to eat so… if I drink that then… helps.
NARRATOR:'For Shelby, things are looking up.'
SHELBY:No, left.
NARRATOR:'A colleague at work with a van, is helping her collect her aunt's old cooker.'
WORK COLLEAGUE:I'll be round here for lunch Shelby.
SHELBY:Aye. Ah, thanks a lot man.
WORK COLLEAGUE:All right, straight through?
SHELBY:Ah, you can go this way.
WORK COLLEAGUE:Now you take care of yourself will you?
SHELBY:Thanks.
NARRATOR:'Shelby's just discovered that the cooker has no power cable.'
SHELBY:Ah, just a bit… I don't know, 'cause I wanted to make my soup but… I need to wait until, I don't know. Ah it's just, there's always something, there's always, always something. SIGHS Never mind.
NARRATOR:'Shelby would like the safety net of savings for the future 'so when things go wrong she can afford to get what she needs, 'like a cooker wire. 'Credit unions are similar to high street banks 'but are better able to support people on low incomes 'Shelby's going to see about opening an account.'
BANKER:What age are you just now?
SHELBY:Seventeen.
BANKER:You can join the Credit Union when you're 16 but you can't borrow money, legally you can't borrow money until you're 18 years old. You'll need two forms of identification. So do you have a passport, or a driving license?
SHELBY:I don't have any photographic ID.
BANKER:Have you got anything with your photograph on it, like a student card or…
SHELBY:No.
BANKER:If you just want to stand in front of this door and-- Yep, we'll take your photograph.
NARRATOR:'The Credit Union are used to helping people out in Shelby's position. Like saving them the cost of an ID photo.'
SHELBY:It's dead adult eh? Going to like a Credit Union.
BANKER:There's your photographs there Shelby.
SHELBY:Definitely might make an account.
NARRATOR:'Even so, it will be a challenge for Shelby to find the six pounds needed to open the account.'
SHELBY:'I think my life could have been a lot easier if I would have just behaved myself and… like, I wasn't always cheeky to my dad so then I wouldn't have got kicked out. I'd have probably been at like, college or going on holidays and stuff 'cause I would have had the financial support.'
NARRATOR:'After not seeing each other for six months, Shelby decided to make contact with her dad. She wanted to show him, how much she's changed.'
SHELBY:My dad come up and fitted my cooker in. It was good like just doing the cooker with him and like wiring it up. It was good like… doing something with him.
NARRATOR:'Seeing her dad, leaves Shelby reflecting back on her childhood.'
SHELBY:You're only like a child for so long and then… Like, it's up to you. You make what you want to make of your life really. I don't feel like, bad about where my life is. It's not ideal but… I'm still only 17 like, I've got a lot of time to… make what I want to make of my life so… dunno it's just kind of like a temporary position.
SHELBY:Hopefully.
LAUGHS
Due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter, teacher viewing is recommended before watching with your students.
Shelby is 17 and lives on her own in Glasgow. She describes her experiences of being unemployed.
Now on a work placement scheme, she discusses the difference this has made to her.
However, the pay is only £55 per week, the same as her job seekers allowance was.
Shelby tries to budget but often runs out of money and is constantly hungry.
We see her struggle to furnish her flat and her seeking help from a credit union.
Shelby reflects on the difficulties in her family relationships that have led to her current situation and describes how difficult it is to live without parental support.
Finally we learn that a few weeks later she discovers she is pregnant and therefore fails to secure a full time job at her placement.
This clip is from the series Growing Up Poor.
Teacher Notes
This clip could act as a stimulus for a research project looking at youth unemployment and young people living in poverty either locally or nationally.
Research could include the range of social and financial support services available to young people and the limitations of those services.
Pupils could explore the choices or actions that young people living in poverty can take to help themselves.
They could also look at factors that might inhibit or limit those choices and actions, as well as the risks and possible consequences of different choices.
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching PSHE/Modern Studies at GCSE Level. This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC KS4/GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 in Scotland.
More from Growing Up Poor:
Teenage pregnancy and poverty - Amber's story. video
This clip explores teenage pregnancy whilst living in poverty. 16 year-old Amber is pregnant, without a partner and on benefits. Amber reflects on the circumstances that led to her current situation.
Teenage poverty, education and finding a job in the UK - Frankie's story. video
Frankie is 19 and living in an overcrowded flat in London with his family who are dependent on benefits. He describes the appeal of life on the streets.
Teenage poverty in the UK and being an unemployed teenage dad - Wesley's story. video
Wes is 19, unemployed and living with his mum with whom he has a difficult relationship. Wes wants to move on, leave home and find a job as he has a one year old son to support.
